Big Dipper, Little Dipper
by ShapeShiftersandFire
Summary: What if Margaret Parangosky and Catherine Halsey were sisters? What would their relationship have been like before Halsey dove into the SPARTAN Project? Slightly AU to fit everything together.


The light of the stars blazed brilliantly over the quiet fields of Endymion, turning the sky from black to a dark shade of blue. Shooting stars flew past their stationary cousins, leaving bright trails of fire in their wake.

Lying in the field, surrounded by nothing more than the chirping of crickets and the rustle of the trees in the wind, were two sisters, out past their bed time. Their eyes, one pair cunning brown and the other shining gray-blue reflected the light of the stars shining above them. Margaret, at fifteen, was the oldest of the pair, but still held onto the dreaming child inside of her. Catherine was thirteen, two years younger, but as curious as the foxes they saw roaming the woods. They lay quiet, ankles crossed and hands folded neatly under their heads.

"Isn't it beautiful, Margaret?" Catherine asked, glancing at her sister.

Margaret smiled. "It certainly is." She watched the sky for a moment, then turned her head. "What do you think it's like up there, Catherine?" she asked. "In space, surrounded by nothing but stars all the time?"

Catherine sighed dreamily. "I bet it's even better up there than it is down here. Oh, can you imagine it, Maggie?" she asked, eyes bright. "Us serving up there together? On a frigate? Or a cruiser?"

Margaret smiled wider. "That would be great," she said. "The two of us, side by side. Nothing would stand in our way! We could be Captain and Commander, Admiral and Vice Admiral! What do you think, Catherine?"

"Sure," Catherine said. "As long as I'm Captain."

Margaret thumped her on the arm. "After me, _Commander_!" The two laughed and settled down. "Captain Halsey," she said. "It has a nice ring, don't you think?"

"Commander Halsey, Admiral Halsey." Catherine played with the titles on her tongue. "I like the sound of them." She turned her head to her sister. "What do you think?"

Another grin spread over Margaret's face. "They sound wonderful." She took a deep breath of cool night air. She reached over and took her sister's wrist in her hand. "I can't wait to serve with you, Catherine."

~O~

The academy awaited both girls when they were of age. Margaret shipped out first, leaving Catherine alone at home for two years until she was old enough to enlist. Their quarters were only a few halls away from each other, and when they had any free time after a trying day of training, they were often found in one of their rooms, catching up and discussing their day. Margaret reveled in the field exercises and war tactics; Catherine was fascinated with the holographic projections of past battles, new ship configurations, and weapons outlines. Their professors regarded them as two of the most eager to learn students they had ever encountered, and that was true; the girls were more than eager to get their hands on any military information they could.

Two years went by, and Margaret began to notice a subtle change in her sister. Catherine became more and more absorbed in the science of the technology they used; she hardly ever talked about the training exercises anymore. She was eager enough about her stay and training at the academy, but Margaret sensed that she had her doubts. She never brought her worries to Catherine's attention. Instead, she kept them secret.

Then, during her second year and Margaret's fourth, Catherine knocked on the door of Margaret's quarters. Two weeks had gone by since Margaret had had any kind of contact with Catherine. According to Catherine, she was working on some kind of project that demanded her attention until she saw it finished. It finally seemed that Catherine's work had come to an end, though Margaret could only begin to guess what it was.

She opened the door, expecting to find Catherine in the traditional casual wear of the academy, but was shocked to find her in a blue scientist's uniform and white lab coat. Her hands were in her pockets; she stared at the floor guiltily.

"Catherine…" Margaret gaped.

Catherine looked up, looked down. "Margaret." The word came with a sigh—uneasy, forced, worried. "I'm transferring, Margaret."

Margaret leaned heavily on the door frame. She forgot how to breathe. _Transfer?_ How could her sister do this to her? They were going to serve together! Admiral and Vice Admiral; Captain and Commander! What had gone wrong?

When she finally found her breath, "Where?"

"The science department." Catherine's voice was choked, but affirmative.

Margaret nodded. In her heart, she had always known this time was coming. She had seen it on the horizon, like a forming storm, ominous black clouds, and she had ignored it. Now here it was full force and beating on her like a hurricane. "We were supposed to serve together…"

Catherine rested a hand on Margaret's shoulder. Margaret was too stunned to shake it off. "I know." She gave a rueful smile. "And we will, don't worry. We may not be on the same ship, or in the same space, but we will, Margaret. We will serve together. Just not the same way."

Margaret covered Catherine's hand in hers with another nod. "All right." The words she truly wanted to say were trapped inside her; she found it impossible to form them in her mouth.

"Okay." Catherine nodded and took her hand from Margaret's. Margaret kept her eyes trained on the ground, a sense of betrayal growing in the pit of her stomach as she listened to Catherine's footsteps fade down the hall.

~O~

As the years passed, Margaret rose slowly through the ranks of the military, eventually rising to Admiral of the Office of Naval Intelligence; having decided that intelligence work was more to her liking. Catherine became a doctor, respected for her intelligence, but reviled for her irritable and short-tempered personality. Margaret herself became as cold and calculating as any killer, though everyday she convinced herself it was because she needed to be that way; without an ice cold demeanor she could get nothing accomplished, earn no respect from the lower troops. And earn respect she had. She was the most feared Admiral in the entire Navy, perhaps even in all the military. The troops never spoke of her with anything but fear, and learned to never question her motives or actions or cross her unless they wanted to become very gone and very dead.

Catherine's devotion to science had twisted her personality so Margaret could only see her sister as a shell of her former self; Margaret had gone so far to legally change her last name. She felt a twinge of guilt when she could hardly recall the last time she had an in-depth conversation with her sister.

In recent years Catherine had gone on to review the failed ORION Project, something authorized by the past head of ONI before Margaret's eventual rise to power. She weeded out and revised the mistakes, deducing that if the project was repeated, but on a different scale, it would be successful.

Doctor Halsey had never felt surer of anything. She knew the project could succeed with the new changes; there was no doubt in her mind about it. It was whether or not Admiral Parangosky would agree to fund it that formed a shadow of doubt on her otherwise clear mind.

When she stepped into the office, led there by a young flag lieutenant, Parangosky was seated at her desk, sitting stiff in her chair as she reviewed the information on a data pad handed to her by a still-present officer. Halsey waited patiently at the back of the room for the Admiral to look up.

Parangosky glanced up; Halsey could see her expression sour into an unreadable mix of emotions. She rested the pad down on her desk. She dismissed the officer and folded her hands over the pad.

Halsey watched the officer leave before approaching. "Admiral," she said respectfully.

Parangosky sighed. "What is it, Catherine?"

"I need funding, Margaret," Halsey answered. "For a revised SPARTAN Program. I've gone over the original project several times already…" Parangosky's face remained stone-still as Halsey rattled off her findings. "In order for the project to be truly effective," she concluded, "the participants cannot be adults. They will have to be children."

At this, Parangosky shot up from her chair. Anger twisted her face. Halsey's stomach cramped. She took a wise step backward.

"_Children_?" Parangosky echoed her voice as cold and sharp as ice. "_Children!_ How can you ever think of it! Oh, Catherine, I knew you were drowning in science, but this…" She shook her head. "What would ever"—she slammed her hand down on the desk—"make you think I would allow such a project?" She stood and walked around her chair. She never left the vicinity of her desk. Now her back was to Halsey; her head was turned just enough for Halsey to see her eye. Halsey sensed the Admiral's fury was mounting by the second.

Halsey regained her composure. "Because you're a reasonable woman, Margaret. You know as well as I that the rebellion is getting to far out of hand for your forces to overcome."

Parangosky whirled around. "And you think that's reason enough for me to fund this sick little endeavor of yours? You'll have to try harder than that, Doctor." All familiar naming was flushed. The Admiral was scorching in emotion but frozen in voice. Was it pure fury or disgust that laced the edges of Parangosky's caustic words?

Halsey took her chances. "What about family, Admiral?" she asked. "There must be something you can do for your sister—"

"No, my sister is gone!" Parangosky shrieked. "If you need your money, fine, I'll let you have it. But I _never_ want to be dragged into your scientific bloodshed again. Get out of my office before I have you thrown out!" She waved her hand at the door and swiveled around to hide her face.

Halsey watched her for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should stay. In a matter of the few precious seconds she had that were running out, she decided against it, and made for the door.

As she left the office, Catherine thought back to the night under the stars, when two sisters lay in a field on Endymion, close, carefree, and dreaming about their future together, serving aboard a ship among the stars.


End file.
